How to Decorate Your Off-Campus Housing Without Breaking the Rules

By Amanda Cohen on March 31, 2018

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After living in a dorm room, you expect all of this freedom when it comes to decorating your room. However, even though you aren’t under your university’s rules, you are under the rules of your landlord and/or your apartment complex owner. Bottom line is that you need to find a way to decorate without breaking the rules.

Most off-campus housing rules involve not painting the walls, not using any types of tape that will peel the paint off of the walls, and nothing that can pose as a fire hazard (yes, many places prevent people from having candles). So, what should you do? How can you make your room feel like home while complying with the housing bans? Believe it or not, there are plenty of ways to make your room feel homier without having to pay an exorbitant amount of money because of a rule break. I’ve been complying with non-university housing rules for three years, and I’m here to pass on my knowledge!

Wall art is probably the easiest and least expensive way to make your off-campus housing feel like home. There are a variety of different routes you can take when it comes to wall art: tapestries, canvases, pictures, lights, and various other trinkets. As I’m writing this article I am literally staring at a huge tapestry on my wall that says “Get Shit Done.”

I find it inspiring, funny, and it came in colors that worked perfectly with my room’s theme. This is one way to utilize tapestries: find ones that have fun or inspiring sayings on them that can range from motivating to funny to even a bit cynical if that’s how you roll. If you are more artsy and/or hipster, you could opt for a tapestry that has a beautiful mandala on it or something that boasts an elegant and alluring image. A great place to find these tapestries are Society6, Dormify, Etsy, and Urban Outfitters.

Image via. https://pixabay.com/en/home-at-home-decoration-wood-2194174/

Canvases are great and run along the same lines as tapestries: they come in different forms and range from prints that make you LOL to prints that make you think in a deep, profound way. If you are having trouble finding canvases that match your specific color scheme, you could always opt for prints that are black and white or prints with neutral colors. If your room’s color scheme is black, white, and grey, purchasing canvases that are brighter will give your room some great accent colors (i.e. adding a red print to your grey and white room).

When placing your canvases on the walls, make sure you use command strips because those are durable and don’t rip off any paint from the walls. You can place them on the walls in the form of a collage, or you can outline your door frame, or you can just place them in any place where they fit. Some great websites to shop for canvas prints are Society6, Etsy, and Urban Outfitters.

Pictures are a great way to make your off-campus housing feel like home. It’s always nice to have reminders of your family and fun memories from your high school and college years. There are a few ways to go about this. One way is to collage the pictures on your wall using command tape. One fun way to do this is by shaping the collage to look like the first letter in your college’s name.

Another way is just to buy different sized prints and squaring them accordingly to your wall. Find fun picture frames to hang up or put on your desk or around your room. Picture frames are great because you can get large ones that have a sweet saying on them, or simple ones. In addition, you can find picture frames that actually hold multiple prints, which gives the pictures a more organized-collage look. Finding a picture frame can be as simple as going on websites like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Urban Outfitters. Just a reminder: use command strip tape to hand up any pictures and/or picture frames so that you don’t rip off any paint!

Image via. https://pixabay.com/en/mobile-phone-smartphone-cell-phone-791071/

Last, but certainly not least, you can spice up your room with small trinkets placed on your dresser, desk, bedside table, etc. For example, I hold all of my pens in a mug that says “Stay Weird” because it’s more fun than just a regular cup. You can also accessorize with school supplies. You can go to websites like Poppin, Etsy, or Amazon to find cute stapler and pencil tin sets.

In addition, feel free to accessorize your room with twinkly lights that you can turn on at night to make your room more relaxing. Lastly, aromatherapy vases are a great way to relax and give your room a chill vibe. The world is your oyster when decorating your room and, trust me, when you use these tips, you can make your room feel like home without breaking the ban! Happy decorating!

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